This Demyelinating Diseases Center Grant proposes to accomplish a broad, indepth investigation of the causes and treatment of central and peripheral demyelinating disorders. The projects can be divided into three major categories focused on therapeutic considerations, mechanisms of demyelination and the relationship of viruses to demyelination. Many contemporary immunologic and molecular biologic techniques are employed to evaluate materials collected from carefully characterized patients, appropriate animal models or neural tissue cultures. This Center grant provides the essential research foundation for a large integrated University of Maryland program focused on the demyelinative disorders. This program, is considered by this group of investigators to be the most productive manner of solving the mysteries of these serious, chronic inflammatory diseases of the nervous system.